"The enemy is deliberately trying to kill Ukrainian police officers who stand guard every day to protect the people and the state," the chief of Ukraine's National Police, Ivan Vyhivsky, said.

The plant, legally owned by Energoatom, once employed 159 licensed specialists — the only people authorized to directly operate the plant’s six nuclear reactors, which, prewar, provided over a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity.

While no casualties were reported in the Dnipro incident, the blast caused significant damage to the building's interior, office equipment, and a nearby vehicle.

However, Ukraine's state grid operator, Ukrenergo, said it received a notice from Slovakia's energy regulator about new flexible price conditions for emergency imports, Vitaliy Zaichenko, Ukrenergo's CEO, told the Kyiv Independent.

Key developments on Feb. 23: * Ukrainian drones strike 'critical' Druzhba oil pipeline hub in Russia's Tatarstan, SBU source confirms * Ukraine strikes logistics warehouse, ammunition depot, other military targets in Russian-occupied territories, General Staff says * Ukraine has liberated 400 square kilometers, 8 settlements on southern front since January, Syrskyi says * 'No coincidence' — Explosion in Mykolaiv injures 7 police officers, day after fatal terrorist attack in Lviv * Ukraine

A former member of Advanced Company, a Brazilian-led foreign fighter unit operating under Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR), has come forward on the record to corroborate details of a recent Kyiv Independent investigation into the death of 23-year-old recruit Bruno Gabriel Leal da Silva at the unit’s base in Kyiv late last year. Daniel Santos Reis told the Kyiv Independent the unit regularly used beatings and torture as "discipline," and that a beating preceded the death of Leal da Silva.

The conflict is seen as part of a broader struggle between the President's Office and the NABU, which says the authorities are trying to eliminate its independence.

"The attempt to impose the legitimization of peace agreements on Ukrainians through a referendum is unlawful and unacceptable, contradicts Ukraine's Constitution and laws, and threatens the national interests of our state," the statement read.

Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said that despite successful offensive operations, the situation in the area remains "complicated."

A month ago, I put my work as a writer and volunteer on hold and enlisted in the Ukrainian army. As I left for service, some of my acquaintances said goodbye to me as though I were already dead. Yet my reasoning was the exact opposite: if you want to survive, defend your family, your home, and your country, you must be fully trained and prepared to protect yourself. There is no better school for that than the Ukrainian Armed Forces on our continent. So when I put on the military uniform, it fe

"This is a setback and a message we didn't want to send today," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

Ukrainian forces struck four Russian military targets on the occupied Crimean Peninsula and in the occupied parts of Donetsk and Mykolaiv oblasts, the General Staff said on Feb. 23.

Drones operated by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) struck a "critical" Russian oil transportation hub, the Kaleykino oil pumping station, in the Republic of Tatarstan overnight on Feb. 23, an undisclosed source in the agency told the Kyiv Independent.

"We are in the process of preparing," the President's Office head Kyrylo Budanov said.

"The same thing (Vladimir) Putin is doing: he pays each person money for a contract. We want this as well, but we do not have enough funds," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

As Ukraine pushes for a fast-tracked entry to the EU, senior European officials say they are worried about progress on key reforms needed to secure the country’s European aspirations. Ukraine failed to complete 11 reforms in the last three months of 2025 required to unlock European funds, according to RRR4U, a consortium of Ukrainian think tanks, and is on track to miss more reforms in the first three months of 2026 — putting a total of five billion euros ($5.8 billion) of EU funding at risk.

A woman has been arrested in connection to a suspected terrorist attack that killed a police officer and injured 25 others in the Western city of Lviv in the early hours of Sunday morning, Ukrainian authorities said.

Russia launched 126 drones and an Iskander-M ballistic missile at Ukraine overnight, the Air Force said. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 105 drones.

The Kyiv Independent’s separate analytical unit, KI Insights, is excited to announce the launch of its podcast, Ukraine Insights — a show dedicated to unpacking Ukraine’s politics, security, economy, and international relations through in-depth, expert-driven conversations.

The documentary has received wide acclaim for the fact that it shows how the war against Ukraine is not just "(Russian President Vladimir) Putin's war" but a war sustained by both a climate of fear and open support among the populace within Russia.

The number includes 720 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 23 in an interview with the BBC that Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively already triggered World War Three, warning that only sustained military and economic pressure can prevent further escalation.

Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces hit an oil depot in occupied Luhansk and destroyed two Russian Tor air defense systems, valued at over $50 million, in occupied Donetsk Oblast, the military said.

The arms deal was signed in Moscow in December, and requires Russia to send Iran 500 "Verba" Man-Portable Air-Defense System (MANPADS) launch units and 2,500 9M336 surface-to-air missiles over three years, the Financial Times reported.

Key developments on Feb. 21-22: * Ukraine hits Russian planes, ships in Crimea, artillery in major strikes on occupied territories * Ukraine confirms Flamingo strike on key Russian ballistic missile factory * Russia hits American sweets factory with missile in northeastern Ukraine * Explosions rock Ukraine's capital and outskirts as Russia launches mass missile attack, killing 1, injuring 17 * Woman arrested after suspected terrorist attack kills police officer, injures 25 in western Ukrai

Several rounds of explosions were reported in Kyiv overnight on Feb. 22, leaving a mother and her child injured as Russia launched ballistic missiles at Ukraine.

Twenty drones were shot down en route to Moscow during the afternoon of Feb. 22, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed.

The factory, located in Trostianets in Sumy Oblast, was struck by a missile, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said. The plant has operated since the 1990s, and produces a range of well-known products, including Oreo and Milka.

Hungary said it would block the EU's new sanctions package against Russia over halted oil deliveries through Ukraine, the latest development in a deepening spat between Ukraine and its neighbors, Slovakia and Hungary, over Russian oil imports.

In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur examines how global support for Ukraine has shifted four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The number includes 890 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Russia launched a large-scale combined drone and missile attack in the early hours of Sunday, firing 50 missiles and 297 long-range kamikaze drones, predominantly towards Kyiv and its suburbs.